Oh what a night!

Review of Ceilidh 30th August 2008

Were you there? No? Well what a night you missed! The Beach Hall was wall to wall people dancing, laughing and thoroughly enjoyng themselves. All ages from 5 to 80 were there, ready for a good time. The visitors outnumbered the club members by 2:1 but what a good time we gave them.

The evening kicked off with Robert, a visiting highland piper who filled the hall with wall to wall sound. Cue Noel Armstrong and Westumbria to take the stage and get the dancers going. With little hesitation they took to the floor and took to the Circassian Circle. Kilts and dresses swirling - it was a grand sight.

After a couple of dances Jean and Andrea Reid gave the visitors a taste of folk music while the dancers caught their breath again. Anthea Hill and Paul Howarth also did breath saving floor spots to revive not only the dancers but the original concept of a ceilidh.

Before we knew it supper was a distant memory, more dances had been completed and it was nearly 11pm. Westumbria left the stage nearly three hours from when they started and took to the dance floor. Noel ran through the sequences for Strip the Willow, Robert took to the stage and piped a fast set and off we all went, including Noel, Stripping the Willow.

We finally wrapped it up at around 11.20 and I can't remember if I've ever seen the hall so full of laughter and enjoyment.

The Club was conceived in 1965 when the Clancy Brothers didn't come and someone had the
astounding idea of having a sing-a-round thus transforming an audience into a folk group.
Formally established in 1966 we're still going strong.